The present invention relates to a method for producing a storage element.
The invention also relates to a storage element obtained by such a producing method.
The invention more particularly relates to a storage element of the central console type of a motor vehicle. Such a console is generally positioned between the front seats of the motor vehicle and allows access to a small storage space. Providing removable consoles is known, which may be attached in the motor vehicle and detached in order to be transported by a passenger of the vehicle. Thus, when the passenger leaves the vehicle, he/she does not need to empty the storage space of the console and transfer its contents into a bag for example.
Such a removable console should preferably have acceptable aesthetics close to a handbag or a conventional piece of luggage so as to be transported without any bother by the passenger outside the vehicle. Thus, it is sought to provide the console with a structure and aspect as close as possible to a leather article, for example, or a bag in textile material.
However, such a console also has to be able to be easily integrated into the motor vehicle and have all the features of a conventional central console of a motor vehicle, such as technical interfaces of the type of means for attaching the console to its environment. These interfaces are generally made in plastic material in an injection mold.
Such a storage element is therefore difficult to produce because of these different requirements, requiring that the storage element have a “textile” aspect while comprising elements in plastic material for its integration into the vehicle.
One of the objects of the invention is to facilitate the production of such a storage element by proposing a method for producing the elements with which both a functional element may be obtained and having a satisfactory aesthetical aspect.
For this purpose, the invention relates to a method for producing a storage element comprising a plurality of panels, at least one portion of said panels being made in a textile material, said method comprising the following steps: producing a pattern in textile material, said pattern comprising several panels, each panel being connected to another panel by a folding line; placing the pattern in the unfolded condition into an injection mold; injecting a plastic material into the injection mold around the panels so as to overmold at least one portion of each of said panels and the folding lines so as to obtain a pattern comprising the faces in textile and plastic materials of the storage element in the unfolded condition; and folding said pattern and attaching said faces to each other so as to form the storage element.
With such a method, it is possible to easily obtain with a few operations a storage element, the visible faces of which are in a textile material and are substantially flexible, giving the element a satisfactory aspect close to that of a conventional piece of luggage, and the edges of which are in plastic materials in order to provide the element with adequate rigidity for its use in a motor vehicle and allowing the integration of technical interfaces.
According to other features of the method:
the method comprises a step for producing a bottom exclusively in plastic material during the plastic material injection step, said bottom being connected to one of the faces in textile and plastic material through a folding line in plastic material;
assembling members are formed during the injection of the additional panel, said assembling members allow the bottom to be attached to at least two faces in textile and plastic material;
members for attaching the storage element to another element are formed in a single piece with the bottom during the injection of said bottom;
the plastic material injection is laid out so that the plastic material overmolds a portion of the edges of the panels in textile material, at least one of the edges of some of said panels not being overmolded with plastic material; and
a portion of a zipper is attached on the edge intended to be non-overmolded with plastic material prior to the injection of the plastic material.
The invention also relates to a storage element that may be obtained according to a method as described above, said element comprising a plurality of faces defining between them a storage space, in which at least some of said faces are in textile material, at least one portion of the edges of said faces are in textile material, at least one portion of the edges of said faces being overmolded with a plastic material, the center of some of said faces not being overmolded with a plastic material.
According to other features of the storage element:
the storage element comprises two first lateral faces, three edges of which are overmolded with a plastic material, said faces being connected to each other through a third lateral face in a textile material entirely overmolded with a plastic material, a lid being connected to said third face through an edge in textile material overmolded with a plastic material;
the storage element further comprises a bottom made in a plastic material, said bottom connecting both first lateral faces and the third lateral face and extending facing the lid; and
the storage element as described above forms a central console of a motor vehicle.